Replacement Vehicle for Jeannie, Gavin & HXXS

We need a car

Content warning: Violence, murder

Heres the rub:

In July of 2020 our Van that which we used to get around town, play local gigs, tour and generally live was lost in a heinous and senseless act of violence. At approximately 5pm a man was murdered in his truck outside our home. In his dying act he hit the gas in his vehicle and slammed his truck into our van lifting his truck over and onto our van where it continued to try and accelerate. The man who murdered this man, then pulled his body from the car and attempted to get away in the truck while continuously destroying our van. Insurance covered the rest of what we owed on our car(it was new and we had been paying it off for a few years) and thats all she wrote on it. It was hard to ask for help then because loss of life is infinitely more heartbreaking than loss of property. Our loss seemed so small compared to the family of the man who lost his life. Something that can never be replaced. Our love continuously goes out to the Styles family.

So in an effort to get back on track a friend started a gofundme for us to replace the vehicle. We didn’t know how to ask for help so we were grateful that he offered and floored by the help. We aimed small and had hoped to procure a used vehicle to get us by for a few years. We didn’t meet our goal but raised enough to cover the cost of a van jeannie had found outside of town. So we closed donations and moved on that vehicle because it was working and fit our needs. It wasn’t perfect, but again we were grateful and thought that we could put money and fix it up more and more over time. Which we did. The previous owner in selling it to us had said he had completely replaced things and that it was working good as new and would last us for a few years without maintenance.

In september of 2021 while driving home from a show we played, at around 11pm, the engine blew up while on the highway. We were all lucky to walk away from the incident unscathed. While incredibly unfortunate the cost of a new engine for the van seemed doable if we saved. It was an older Dodge Ram and the cost of the engine and labor would come out to around 3k or so and we thought we could manage. After we talked to our mechanic it turned out that the engine was always gonna blow but that the previous owner had done enough maintenance to cover this up, and that it was hard to know that this would happen until it did, basically. There were some obvious signs that what we were paying for wasn’t right, but we were DESPERATE and needed something to get us around. We should’ve known something was up when the previous owner dropped the price from 8k, to 2k if we had cash on hand.

So a few months went by where we tried to figure out replacing the engine to get us back and going again. Then in January 2022 the van, was stolen from in front of our house. At first we thought it had been impounded by the city because it had been sitting for awhile. After checking in with the city and checking KCPDs impound lots etc, it turns out that wasn’t the case and there was no record of our van in violation, nor did we ever receive a warning or citation that it would be impounded. So someone stole the van that didn’t work and likely sold it for parts or to a scrapyard. So here we are in 2022 with no car trying to save for another, and with the rising prices of one while trying to manage, rent/bills and groceries its been damn near impossible for us to do so. If you’ve wondered at all why we haven’t toured since its been possible again, or why we don’t play local shows as frequently, this is the reason.

In addition, just living our life basically has been difficult, from getting to and from work, having to order groceries at an even higher cost than their current inflated prices etc, our means of doing and living basically is greatly hindered.

So, dear community, we once again turn to you to help us acquire a new car. This time were aiming for something new, or newish so that maintenance at the very least is low, and it is reliable. Therefore our goal is higher this time. So we can get around town, play local shows we are asked to play(which impacts our income) and hopefully tour our new record next year. We know times our hard and we don’t expect to meet the goal or folks to be able to support this, but even if you could like, share, comment it would be incredibly grateful. We’re not good at asking for help and usually rely on ourselves but have come to realize this isn’t something we can do ourselves. We again, thank you so much for your ongoing support and hope to see you all the road in 2023